Chapter Sixteen: The Barbecue Grill

Whoosh! Lightning tore through the air, carrying a hint of scorching heat as it pierced the corpse-mutated hyena in an instant. The white bolt exploded thunderously, and the creature whimpered as it collapsed to the ground. At the same time, another black arrow appeared on the Explosive Bow, wrapped in searing heat, ending the tragic fate of a second hyena. Two arrows fired in quick succession—Fang Tang felt quite satisfied. He stood where he was, slowly savoring the battle that had just taken place. The corpse-mutated hyenas were creatures from the deepest layer of the cavern, perfect for practice. Moving targets, not particularly fast, with weak vitality—they had become Fang Tang’s lab rats. For now, the Explosive Bow’s power seemed rather decent: fast speed, strong penetration, high explosive force. The moment it pierced the hyena, its life was snuffed out. Adding the powerful voltage, dealing with the Rotting Corpse Guardian would be a mere trifle.

After retrieving the two arrows, Fang Tang opened the wooden crate in the corner. He only found some iron ingots and a bit of wood—nothing else. Sitting down, he spread out the newspaper. In his private messages, more people were seeking custom weapons. Most began with haggling over prices, which Fang Tang had no patience for. Only the decisive few, who placed orders straightforwardly, were accepted. Soon, he’d have a few more elemental stones in hand, and his mood lightened further. There was a sense of… swelling pride with newfound wealth. He crafted a flame muzzle while scrolling through unread messages.

One message caught Fang Tang’s attention.

Jin Tu: “Mr. Fang, I have a blueprint for clothing. Could I trade it with you for a ****?”

A clothing blueprint! Fang Tang glanced at his dirty clothes, feeling tempted. Who wouldn’t want better living conditions? He quickly typed, “Alright, but you’ll need to bring your own materials.”

Soon, Jin Tu replied, “No problem. I’ll send the transaction link right over.” Fang Tang happily opened the link, and eight iron ingots along with eight copper ingots dropped out. He casually hung the finished gun on the link and sent it to Jin Tu. The transaction was simple—Fang Tang received the blueprint and promptly recorded it in his newspaper.

Short-sleeved shirt: Fabric ×2.

Though it was only a short-sleeved shirt, Fang Tang was delighted for a long time. At last… finally, he had new clothes to wear.

Unable to wait, he quickly crafted four pieces of fabric, using up all the fibers and cotton he’d previously obtained, and acquired a brand-new, plain short-sleeved shirt. The shirt was exceptionally soft and carried the fresh scent of fiber. After a simple wash, Fang Tang changed into his new shirt. It was a feeling of rebirth. His silly grin drew the Eye’s discontent.

[Oh pitiful servant, so happy over a mere shirt—if you had something better, would you die of joy?]

“What’s something better?” Fang Tang blinked, curiosity in his voice. He waited a while, but the Eye gave no reply, and Fang Tang pouted in disappointment.

“Always talking halfway, and you call yourself omniscient?” He grumbled at the Eye, then set about completing the remaining orders in his hands. Four more elemental stones gained, Fang Tang said, “I now have thirty-three elemental stones. You told me to amass them, and now they’re almost overflowing in storage. You’d better think of a use for them.”

Currently, the only blueprints needing elemental stones were the flame muzzle, water collector, and mechanical claw arm. Nothing else required them, which troubled Fang Tang. Perhaps wealth brings its own headaches?

[How foolish. The quantity of elemental stones you stockpile determines the speed of your growth.]

“Tch, with my actions, the price of elemental stones is sure to rise soon. Gathering them will become much harder.” Fang Tang’s moves had already pushed elemental stone prices to new heights. Today’s small windfall would be impossible to repeat in the future.

The longer one survived in the cavern, the more resources and blueprints one obtained. Some rare blueprints required elemental stones, and as essentials, their price was bound to rise. Fang Tang had simply capitalized on a gap in information, accelerating the trend.

He was someone who always thought several steps ahead. Now, he had to plan for the future. He needed to find other sources of elemental stones. Besides elemental stones, there were blueprints. Blueprints were even more vital, and unless absolutely necessary, few would use elemental stones as currency.

Take Xie Ling, for example—her first two blueprint trades were made only because hunger compelled her to exchange them for survival resources. Later blueprint exchanges were due to Fang Tang’s actions, as their friendship deepened, prompting her to share blueprints. Otherwise, Xie Ling wouldn’t foolishly hand over hard-earned blueprints to others.

Thus, Fang Tang needed to consider how to expand his channels for acquiring these two resources. Digging alone, it was uncertain how long true growth would take.

“…Uh, do you have any ideas?” Fang Tang blinked, hoping the Eye would offer some advice.

[Gather more elemental stones. Rare resources are coveted by the Cavern Shop. There, you can barter anything—even yourself.]

“Hmm?” Fang Tang paused, mumbling, “Why does that sound suspiciously like Pawnshop No.8?”

He packed everything up and looked at the wall.

[Do you like grilled meat?] The Eye offered a cryptic question.

Fang Tang nodded. “Of course I do. What about you? Too bad you can’t eat.” A mischievous retort brought him joy.

[…I was about to tell you the location of the barbecue grill blueprint. Now find it yourself.]

Fang Tang: “…”
He suddenly realized mischief wasn’t as satisfying as expected—in fact, it made him a bit sad.

“Don’t be mad, brother, I was only kidding. Where’s the barbecue grill?”

[Left!!!]

“Got it, I’m on my way.”

Fang Tang’s eyes lit up as he excitedly grabbed his pickaxe and headed left through the cavern.

In Cavern No.38, the table holding the blueprints still sat in the center, with an iron chest in the corner. To his surprise, both resources and blueprints were present. Fang Tang’s smile grew wider.

Barbecue Grill: Iron ingot ×10, Copper ingot ×3, Fire Spirit Stone ×1, Lightning Stone ×1, Gale Stone ×1.

He recorded the blueprint, and when the synthesis tree appeared, Fang Tang was startled by the resource requirements.

Good grief, a barbecue grill needed three elemental stones? Wasn’t that daylight robbery? Luckily, his stock was sufficient—otherwise, tonight’s dinner would be out of reach.

He initiated the crafting process, which would take ten minutes to complete. In the meantime, Fang Tang turned to the iron chest.

Acquired: Instant noodles ×2, salt ×1, sausage ×1, egg ×2, cotton ×2.

Along with three iron ingots extracted from the chest, the haul was quite decent. The instant noodles in particular whetted Fang Tang’s appetite. They were perfect for a craving—one packet wasn’t enough, but two would be too much. Rice was more suitable for a proper meal—more filling. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t found any rice. Fang Tang even felt the resource distribution in the cavern was a bit uneven.